Structural and Electoral Reform in WA

In October 2005, at the request of the then Minister for Local Government and Regional Development, the Local Government Advisory Board commenced an inquiry into Local Government Structural and Electoral Reform in Western Australia.

The Board’s report; Local Government Structural and Electoral Reform in Western Australia - Ensuring the Future Sustainability of Communities was released in April 2006, following extensive consultation.

The Board distributed an issues paper to stimulate discussion and invited public submissions. Public hearings were held around the State and a survey was distributed to local governments seeking feedback on the extent of resource sharing and co-operative arrangements.

The public submissions, public hearings and returned surveys along with a wide range of research sources informed the Board’s report which was submitted to the then Minister in March 2006 and released for public comment later that year.

Findings of the Board included:

• Some local governments are facing severe demographic pressures that are threatening community sustainability.
• Some local governments are facing staff recruitment and employment pressures that are threatening organisational sustainability.
• Some local governments are not generating enough revenue to meet their operating demands and are likely to have difficulty in meeting long term infrastructure funding needs.

Specific recommendations were also made for:

• amalgamation of local governments in respect to metropolitan Perth and regional areas.
• addressing impediments to structural reform.
• organisational arrangements and management and reporting of local governments’ financial position.

The Board concluded that relatively few changes were required to improve the electoral system and that structural reform by local government while not a panacea for sustainability would in the long term facilitate greater sustainability in the system of local government in WA.